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Sir Alex Ferguson unveils Salford City FC's Peninsula Stadium
Sir Alex Ferguson has unveiled Salford City's new stadium - named after a sponsorship deal with Peninsula.
The former Manchester United manager was invited up to do the honors by Ryan Giggs, one of the Class of 92 legends who part-own the club.
He was joined by Paul Scholes and Gary Neville for the event at Moor Lane.
Sir Alex Ferguson unveils Salford City FC's Peninsula Stadium
Giggs told the crowd of committee members, fans and players: "The announcement of the naming rights with Peninsula demonstrates the vision and the ambition that we have for this club.
"It is a huge day and we are all really proud of the drive and the steps forward we have taken over the last few years.
"A special thank you to Sir Alex who I worked under for 25 years, to me he is just simply the boss and we are really thankful that he can open the new Peninsula Stadium today."
Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Sir Alex Ferguson
It comes after the club announced a five year partnership with employment law experts Peninsula which is headed up by Salford-born entrepreneur Peter Done.
Sir Alex said he was not surprised by the move as he can 'see why they want to give back to an area that has been a big part of their lives'.
However, he did joke that he thought his former players were 'off their heads' for wanting to buy a football club at first - but praised them on how far they've come.
Sir Alex Ferguson with Salford City players
He added: "Right through your lives whatever you have achieved, and wanted to achieve, it's been with great energy and belief in what you're doing.
"I'm also delighted that my friend Peter has sponsored it. Peter has put a lot into the north west and brought a lot of employment here and I'm really delighted that you've done this, it's fantastic."
He then pulled the red covering off to unveil a special plague marking the occsion.
The new 5,000-capacity stadium will be fully completed in time for the opening game on November 12.
Bosses want to completely transform the Moor Lane ground as it gears up for the Football League - and put in a 600-capacity supporters' club.
After the unveiling Neville took to the stage to talk about how far the club has come since he and Giggs first thought of buying a club.
He said: "We thought about starting an academy but we thought this would be no good without a first team and ambition as a club as we would end up being a babysitting service.
"It was quite a crazy idea to have a football club and it needed to be somewhere that is true to our roots.
"Salford has helped to shape us - whether we have played here, lived here or were born here. We learnt everything we know at The Cliff."
Speaking of the new partnership he added: "When we came to look at naming rights we wanted it to be someone who had local roots and someone that was a great employer in the north west of England.
"When we went to visit Peninsula's office we were impressed by the enthusiasm and the spirit in the office and I knew that this would be a fantastic opportunity so I would like to say thank you very much for supporting us."
Done who heads up Peninsula was born in Ordsall and set up his business in Salford.
He said: "We have got our roots here and the rest is history. We have a worldwide organisation which is really succesful.
Newly named 'The Peninsula Stadium' was unveiled by the Class of 92’s former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
"When Gary approached me to think about the naming rights of Peninsula I just thought it was a great match.
"It's going to put Salford on the map - we have two great clubs in Manchester but from small beginnings here it could really develop over the years. We see this very much as a long term partnership going forward."
Done, who would not disclose how much the deal is worth, has more than 1,000 employees in Manchester.
He joked: "My job now is to make sure they are all Salford City supporters, and their kids and their grandkids."
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